Lenawee County district judge candidates meet voters at NAACP forum

ADRIAN — Candidates running for Lenawee County district judge shared their experience and judicial philosophies with voters during a forum Thursday in Adrian. 

Lenawee County District Judge Todd M. Morgan is looking to retain his position. He was appointed to the bench this spring by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to fill a vacancy created by Judge Jonathan L. Poer’s retirement. His appointment is until Jan. 1, 2023. 

Attorneys Christopher Fleming, Ashley Hanson-Grimes and David Lacasse are looking to complete the unexpired term. 

Two candidates will advance from the Aug. 2 primary. Whoever is elected in November will serve through the end of 2026. 

All four candidates appeared at the forum hosted by the Lenawee County branch of the NAACP at the Julianne and George Argyros Performing Arts Center at Adrian High School. 

Dale Gaertner of radio station WLEN in Adrian was the forum’s moderator.  

Candidates for the new 34th District in the Michigan House of Representatives, the new 5th U.S. House District and the new 16th Michigan Senate District also took part in the forum. A story on the candidates in the Republican primary in the 34th District appeared in Saturday’s edition of The Daily Telegram. Only one candidate appeared for each of the other two races. The Telegram will publish profiles of those candidates separately. 

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Before becoming judge, Morgan worked in the Lenawee County Public Defender’s Office. His earlier work experience includes being a forensic security aide in a mental health hospital prison and being a financial analyst for Michigan Rehabilitative Services, a state agency that helps people with disabilities get or keep jobs. He opened his private practice in Adrian in 2011 after receiving his law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing. He also is a U.S. Navy veteran and a past member of the Clinton Village Council. 

Fleming has been an assistant Lenawee County prosecutor since 2018. He worked in private practice before joining the prosecutor’s office. He has been an attorney since 2012 after receiving his law degree from Southern Illinois University in 2011. 

Lacasse graduated from the Michigan State University College of Law in 2007. He works in private practice in Adrian but also serves as a township attorney. 

Hanson-Grimes graduated from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2011 and first became a licensed attorney in Indiana in 2011. She joined the Michigan Bar in 2013. She is a juvenile court referee in Lenawee County and a defense attorney in the sobriety and enhanced treatment courts in district court.

The following are responses to some of the questions asked during the forum.

Sentence agreements 

Morgan said sentencing agreements as part of plea deals, called a Cobbs agreement, can help move cases along, particularly when a jail term is not expected, but there may be cases where the judge would not agree to a particular sentence as part of a plea. 

Fleming said that because the judge, prosecution and defense are involved in discussions about a possible Cobbs plea, he is in favor of them “because it does foster efficiency in the courtroom.” 

“Since we were shut down from the pandemic, the cases that we have now are just voluminous. It’s just insane how many cases that have hung around since 2020, 2021, unfortunately, and to be able to efficiently handle those cases with a Cobbs agreement from a judge is extremely helpful.” 

Cobbs agreements have their place because they provide a defendant with some certainty, but they are not appropriate in all cases, Lacasse said. 

“The judge has to have the wherewithal and the wisdom to be able to discern when they are appropriate and when they are not,” he said. 

Cobbs agreements should be the exception and not the rule in district court, Hanson-Grimes said. 

“I believe that, although they are a useful tool, that justice and accountability need to take precedence in district court,” she said. “District court is the place where we can really get at the forefront of why criminal behavior is occurring, and if we are just trying to deal that away in order to clean up the docket, that is at the expense of our community and our public safety.” 

Agreements are most effective when the defendant might be best served by being sentenced to one of the treatment courts or intensive probation, she said. 

Sentencing philosophy 

Sentencing is about making sure people are held accountable, Fleming said, and is done on a case-by-case basis. 

“The facts are taken into account when I would sentence,” he said. 

Lacasse said sentences should be appropriate for the crime and proportional to the severity of the crime. Sentences should also consider programs that could help the offender not continue their criminal behavior.

"That will help not only them personally but also society as a whole,” he said. 

To ensure restitution is paid, Hanson-Grimes said probation should be tailored to require a monthly or weekly payment and to make sure defendants are working. 

“We have many jobs in Lenawee County that are not being fulfilled, but we do have people that are able to fulfill them,” she said. “We would get people to work and allow that obligation to be met.” 

Offenders should be treated as individuals to ensure their obligations to their victims are met, she said. 

Ensuring victims receive restitution starts with listening to the victims, Morgan said. But it also means looking at the offender’s situation, such as mental health, alcohol or substance abuse problems that could be addressed by counseling or some other treatment. 

Bonds 

Lacasse said how bonds are set should be reviewed. He said one of the reasons to set a bond is to ensure the defendant will appear at later court dates. 

“It has to be a reasonable bond,” he said. “What may be reasonable for someone who makes less money may not be a deterrent at all for someone who makes a lot more money.” 

Bonds need to be set based on the individual and the crime, he said. 

As juvenile court referee, Hanson-Grimes said she makes these kinds of decisions when deciding whether to detain a defendant. 

“When I look at those criteria, I look to the risk to the person and the risk to the community if the person is out,” she said. 

In district court, the cost of jail and the chance someone might lose their job or home if they are in jail awaiting a resolution of their case also should be considered, she said. 

“Are we able to put services in place that keep our community safe from you but still keep you on the street?” she said. “I do believe that there are ways to do that without imposing cash, and I think that I am willing as district court judge to look at all avenues in order to ensure appearance in court and the safety of the community.” 

Morgan called bond a “major issue.” Being in jail for a short time can cause someone to lose their home or car, he said, so the court has bond hearings to allow defendants' attorneys to argue for their release. 

Bond is also determined on a case-by-case basis, he said, considering the crime, the defendant, the victim and society. 

Fleming said bond is set not only ensure future appearances in court but also to protect the community. He said the prosecutor’s office has been “screaming from the mountaintop” that bonds are not being set appropriately. He said there have been many cases involving serious charges when a personal recognizance bond has been allowed.

“That’s just not acceptable to me,” he said. “That won't happen if I am district judge.”